Central Europe as a focal point of the automotive industry

Deloitte study

Deloitte’s survey of the Central European automotive industry presents the opinions of leaders of manufacturing and supply companies in the industry. The aim of the survey conducted in six countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) is to describe the specific features of the sector in the region, as well as to show how the relevant companies see their positions.

We are seeing the locations outgrowing their role as purely production facilities and they are increasingly taking on tasks in research and development or roles as technical competence centres.

Key insights

Executives surveyed named cost of labor (75%), availability of skilled labor (55%) and the tax regime (36%) as the top three advantages. The top three disadvantages were: low reliability of the legal system (46%), an underdeveloped educational system (38%), and deficiencies in transport infrastructure (34%).

All of the executives surveyed make some sort of investment in the improvement of employees’ skills and qualifications. This is done through internal training (89%) and cooperation with public schools and professional training institutions (64%).

When asked if they were to open a new facility, which country they would choose, 34% of executives surveyed chose Poland, 16% chose Bulgaria, and both Hungary and Romania were the third choice at 11%.

With an overwhelming majority planning on increasing production capacity, executives were also asked about their investment plans. A majority plan to focus on the innovation of new products (76%) and invest in their employees’ education (66%).

When asked about the expectations that manufacturers have for their suppliers, price optimization ranked the highest at 18%. The same question was asked of suppliers about manufacturers and the results reflected an expectation of partnership and stability.

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